Diveghat

Eagles Paradise !

Today(10^th Nov 2013).. as planned previous day left for Diveghat at 5.10 am sharp.Muzaffar and Tushar picked me at Kalewadi Phatta precisely as promised...and proceeded to I went to both lookout points. When I was on top of one I looked up to a higher point. In the picture below in the top right corner is a saffron flag. I decided I would trek up to that point. On the way up is a small forest area, a change from the tall dry grass everywhere else. I saw a deer in this little forest Looking out toward Malhargad Fort

From this view you can see Jadavgadh fort a 5 star hotel hidden in the haze of the photo but visible on the mountain.

Diving Directions:

From pune take saswad road from hadapsar (right from pune solapur road at the hadapsar flyover).  Cross the dive ghat and keep a watch on the right side. Take immediate right turn after Hotel Garva. From here the trails begins. You will see a lake. This is good birding spot. Continue on this road. Go inside the kaman. Climb a smallish ghat. On the top , in the dry scrub you can see sykes’s crested larks

In the morning there were plenty of Grey Francolin’s calls.

Saw a Grey Francolin pair for almost 15 minutes. was able to record the call nicely. End of the trail was at a point from where on the right was pune road, while at the left was u shaped mountain range.  Here could see many raptors,  just a glimpse of red necked falcon.

From this point, at about 300\400 mts on a parallel mountain range saw 4 adult dears . I guess it should be black buck
                                               

Checklist:

White-throated Kingfisher
Common Myna
House Crow
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Black Kite
Little Cormorant
Greater Coucal / Crow Pheasant
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Green Bee-eater
Large Grey Babbler
Red-Wattled Lapwing
Red-vented Bulbul
Black Drongo
Little Brown Dove
Large Billed Crow
Purple Rumped Sunbird
Jungle Myna
Brahminy Starling
Spot Billed Duck
ShikraSouthern Grey Shrike
Long Tailed Shrike
Bay backed Shrike
Small minivet
Indian Roller
Eurasian Spoonbill
Blue Rock Thrush
Roufous Tailed Lark
Common Stonechat
Common Teal
Grey Necked Bunting
Indian Silverbill
Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
Eurasian Collared Dove
Black Shouldered Kite
Bonellis Eagle
Montagu’s Harrier
Common Kestrel
Indian Robin
Steppe Eagle
Short Toed Snake EagleLittle Ringed Plover
Sykes’s (Crested) Lark
Grey Francolin
Little Grebe
Great Egret
Indian Pond HeronNorthern Pintail
Red Necked Flacon

The Nagzira wildlife
It is about 120 km north Of Nagpur

The Nagzira wildlife sanctuary is a miraculously preserved “Green Oasis” in the eastern most part of the Maharashtra State and has a great importance from bio-diversity conservation point of view. This sanctuary is locked in the arms of nature and adorned with picturesque landscapes, luxuriant vegetation and serves as living outdoor museum to explore and appreciate nature.This wildlife sanctuary is indeed nature’s priceless asset and beckons one and all to enjoy its picturesque landscape, its scenic beauty, its pure and fresh air. It is really a boon to us and hence we must realise the real worth of this marvelous treasure house of nature and must protect it as a part of our national heritage. It has got immense potentials from bio-diversity conservation point of view and its values are discussed below.

ECOLOGICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES: It is an important conservation unit in Central India in general and Vidarbha in particular. It acts a “Green-lung” for the adjoining human settlements and helps in maintaining the environmental balance.

ZOOLOGICAL VALUES: It is home of many endangered species.  The vertebrate fauna includes, besides a number of fishes, about 34 species of mammals, about 166 species of birds including migratory land and water birds, about 36 species of reptiles and about 4 species of amphibia.  This sanctuary is notable for its wealth of birds and is indeed a bird watcher’s paradise.  The zoological values of this sanctuary are briefly given below.

                                                                i) Invertebrates:
This sanctuary is the abode of, besides innumerable other insects and ants species, about 49 Butterfly species belonging to 9 families, the important species among them are Common Rose, Common Mormon, Lime Butterfly, Common Sailor, Common Indian Crow, Black Rajah etc.

                                                                ii) Mammals:
Nearly 34 – species of mammal belonging to about 8 natural orders and 16 families are seen in this sanctuary, out of which about 14 species are of endangered status, namely Tiger, Panther, Jungle Cat, Small Indian Civet, Palm Civet, wolf, Jackal, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Common Giant Flying Squirrel, Gaur, Four Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer, Pangolin.

                                                               iii) Birds:
The avifauna of this sanctuary is it’s most attractive wildlife feature. Well over 166 species belonging to about 16 different orders and 47 families have been recorded here. Also as many as 15 species of migratory birds and about 42 species of local migrants are reported. One remarkable bird, “Bar-headed Goose” which is a winter migrant from Ladakh and Tibet inhabits Chorkhamara tank located adjoining the sanctuary. There are 13 bird species of endangered status including peafowl and the birds belonging to “Accipitridae” family.

                                                            iv) Reptiles:
This sanctuary is the abode of about 36 species of reptiles belonging to 2 natural orders and 11 families out of which about 6 species are of endangered status namely Indian Rock Python, Dhaman, Indian Cobra, Russel’s Viper, Checkered Keelback and Common Monitor.

                                                           v) Amphibia:
This sanctuary is a home of many interesting varieties of frogs and toads like Tree-frog, Bull-frog, Six-toed.frog,.an uncommon toad; Ramanella montana etc.

                                                         vi) Fishes:

The Nagzira lake and the other water-bodies in and around this sanctuary abound in many varieties of fresh water fishes.

                                                 BOTANICAL..VALUES:
One of the unique features of this sanctuary is the existence of diverse vegetation type ranging from dry mixed forests to moist forests. Its forests belong to the category of “Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests” – 5A/C3 as per the revised classification of the forests by Champion and Seth. This sanctuary serves as a living repository of various economical, medicinal, aromatic, ornamental plant species.  Nearly 200 tree species are seen in this sanctuary.

                                                  GEOLOGIAL..VALUES:
This sanctuary exhibits an amazing diversity of terrain and the altitude ranges from nearly 30 meters to about 560 meters above the mean sea level, which is the highest point of the sanctuary. The typical geological formations are Sakoli Series having number of formations comprising of phyllites, slates, chlorites etc. and Saucer Series. The rocks of the two groups appear to show difference in chemical composition of lime bearing rocks. The mineralogical difference is that the rocks of Saucer group commonly contain Felspar and Biolite but no chlorite whereas those of Sakoli group contain invariably chlorite, rarely Biolite and no Felspar. All this is coupled with a diversity of terrain having steep ridges, narrow valleys and deep gorges with varying altitude.

                                                  WATERSHED..VALUES:
This sanctuary forms the catchments of the Nagzira lake, Thadezari Lake, Chorkhamara Lake, Bodalkasa Lake, Rengepar Lake, Murpar Lake, Lendezari Lake, Malutola Lake, Balapur Lake, Pindkepar Lake, Bodbadya Lake etc. Which are important from agricultural point of view. These lakes are also important for fishing purposes.

                                                  CULTURAL...VALUES:
On the border of the sanctuary, Mohaedo Temple at Pongezira attracts the people from the various parts of the state and also from the adjoining Madhya Pradesh who come in thousands during Mahashivratri.

                                                 RECREATION..VALUES:
This sanctuary has got great potential for providing wildlife education and recreation to the people.  The major features of wildlife education and recreation are Bison road, Tiger road, Chital road, Circular road, etc.  Around 25000 tourists visit this sanctuary every year.

"Nagpure Rocks" Team:

                               

Sinhagad Valley

 

                               Sinhagad Valley

PUNE: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)  carried out its first bird banding session in Sinhagad valley along with a group of bird enthusiasts.
Bird banding is used around the world as a major research tool in which a small band or tag is tied to the birds' legs and helps track their movements. This enables the study of various aspects of the bird's life which, is turn, aids conservation efforts. Bird lovers got an opportunity to study not just common birds that were banded in this way but migratory birds as well. They were guided by S Balachandran, assistant director of BNHS and an authority on birds

The birds were first caught in a mist net made of very thin nylon threads. The nets were put up in places that are frequently visited by the birds. Around 17 birds were captured, among them four migratory birds, the Asian Paradise-flycatcher, the Leaf Warbler, Grey Wagtail and Red -throated Flycatcher. The main attraction among these birds was the beautiful `Asian Paradise-flycatcher.'
The birds caught in the net were weighed and measurements taken of their wings, bill, head, torso and tail. The bill's shape, size, and colour can be used to determine the age and sex in certain species.
Balachandran told TOI that any record of a ringed bird, either through recapture and subsequent release, or its final recovery as a dead bird, can tell us about its life, particularly its movement.
"Tracking back the journeys of ringed birds helps us learn about their migratory routes. At present, there is not much information on their movement. Thus, this provides crucial information for the planning of integrated systems of protected areas for the birds," he explained

                                           

AVALANCHE

This camp site is run by SUI(Scripture Union Of India)



Avalanche is just a 26 km drive from Ooty across sylvan surroundings. The scenic path meanders through the emerald camp and provides a magnificent view of the Avalanche valley and the dam. The sparkling water of Avalanche Lake is wedged between dense woodland of shola trees. Rhododendrons run a riot of colors in Avalanche, the magnolias bloom bright and the orchids are delightfully mysterious.

The Avalanche valley is  a nature lover's paradise . While out in one of the most beautiful excursions from Ooty, you can opt to stay amidst this serene locale.

This nature blessed place near Ooty in Avalanche is blessed with abundant natural beauty that many guests &Campers return to spend some quiet time with the green earth. Those who are looking for environmentally friendly accommodation in Ooty, this is the ultimate place to look for. The unique concept, the picturesque landscape , the great food ,service & hospitality  makes an ideal weekend getaway.
                                                                   Activities
Trek &Camp

David,Dhaval,Harsih,Samson ,Dixit and Andysam in the lead exploring the forest and searching for Tiger trails and territory markings of the Great Cat.

David an avid Professional photographer leading the trekking.

Nature  walk

Early morning we all woke braving the October chill shivering cold and went for a morning nature walk to view the golden sun rise.

                                Tina Goldswer admiring the golden view of the valley down !!!

                                                  Andy and Tina sharing the sun rise view

  Mountain & Rock Climbing

                                                    Valley crossing                                                          

                                                                   

                  Kayaking in the beautiful lake with magnificent landscape views

                                                               

            Abseiling in the mountains with ice cold waterfalls flowing down in all 
                                                      in  it's heavenly glory!

 People at Avalanche Eco Camp!

 
                                                        

                                            Trek walk thru Virgin Forest
                                                                  

          

   

Today, it is all about beautiful and peaceful vacation with the nature. There is a growing trend of eco travelers around the world and ecotourism in India is fast growing. To cater to the high demand of eco travelers, many eco friendly accommodations have come up in India. This growing number of environmentally friendly camp sites in India will attract more green travelers from around the globe. These green accommodations include nature resorts, home stays, eco villages, camps and tents. Most of the green locations in India are amongst the best eco friendly hotels in the world. These eco lodges offer a refreshing approach to tourism and are located in some of the most natural and picturesque parts of India.

Good news, Good news, Scripture Union is always organizing and adventure camp in ooty, for the teens and young adults,  we can come and give a presentation for the same, please feel free to contact us at 9833207402, 09894098097..come and enjoy the beautiful scenic beauty of one of God's creation and just be in HIS awesome presence, with lots of adventure games, like abseiling, kayaking, trekking, night jungle walk to see the shooting stars, early morning Golden Sun Rise,gorge walking and many more, come experience worshiping our CREATOR in HIS jungle church.
GOD bless,